Sunday, August 4, 2024
Do you remember the old GEICO TV commercial that poked fun at decisions people make in horror movies? In it, four young people are frantically running and tripping in the dark outside of a home, trying to get away from a presumed killer. One youth suggests hiding in the attic; another suggests the basement, and a third offers a logical solution: “Why can’t we just get in the running car?” as she points to a sporty red convertible. To which the fourth young person responds: “Are you crazy? Let’s hide behind the chainsaws”, as he points to a garage with a wide-open door. “If you’re in a horror movie, you make poor decisions!” The announcer’s voice plays over the video of the youth confined to the garage as the predator looks at them, shaking his head in disbelief at their choice of a safe place.
Last week and until the end of August, the Lectionary temporarily transitioned from Mark’s Gospel to Gospel readings from John, Chapter 6. We read John’s account of the miracle of the multiplication of five loaves of bread and two fish that fed a crowd of over five thousand people. In today’s Gospel, that same crowd came to Jesus and asked Him: “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do?” (John 6:30). The crowd’s decision to ask for a sign was a poor one. We can say: how quickly do they forget? We can also say that about the Israelite community in the wilderness when they grumbled against Moses and Aaron and fondly recalled their days as slaves to the Egyptians, as we read in today’s Old Testament selection from the Book of Exodus. Maybe it is not uncommon for people to forget all the ways God reveals Himself and provides for His people! It is why “They have eyes but do not see; ears but do not hear” is transcribed multiple times in the Old and New Testaments.
Faith is the great gift God gives to us. Through our faith, He reveals Himself, and by His grace, we intellectually assent to and accept His revelations as truths. Faith is both personal and communal. As individuals, we live by faith and trust in God to guide our footsteps. As a Church, we profess our faith in God and His teachings. Another gift God gives us is the dignity and capacity to choose between good and evil when making big and small decisions for ourselves using our conscience. Like all other gifts given to us by God, we must guide and form our conscience through learning and praying for wisdom. As the Church puts it in part: “The education of the conscience is a lifelong task. From the earliest years, it awakens the child to the knowledge and practice of the interior law recognized by conscience. Prudent education teaches virtue; it prevents or cures fear, selfishness and pride, resentment arising from guilt, and feelings of complacency, born of human weakness and faults.” (Catechism §1784)
So, let us listen for and discern God’s voice by reflecting on His Sacred Scriptures. Let us open our hearts to the Holy Spirit to inspire and guide our decisions.
Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord.